Our first stop in Spain is only half an hour from the border in the town of Figueres, just north of Girona. Well, actually we are camping for the night in the nearby town of Roses by the coast, but that’s only because we can’t find a campsite any closer. Tomorrow we are visiting a museum dedicated to Figueres’ most famous son, Salvador Dali.
Dali was born in Figueres in 1904, and he died here too at the ripe old age of 84. In the 60s, Dali and the town’s mayor embarked on an ambitious plan to renovate the old town theatre, which had been destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, as a museum and monument to the artist. The Dali Theatre and Museum was born. From the outside the building is a marvellous surrealist corner block topped with a series of giant eggs. Inside is a fantastic romp through the mind of the great man himself. The building itself was designed by Dali, and he made every effort to fill it to the brim. Every corner, every nook and every cranny has something to stop and stare at.
The original theatre stage has been faced off with some seriously impressive glazing creating an indoor space separated from the outside courtyard, now open to the elements where the original theatre seating once stood. An enormous geodesic dome caps the building and floods the space with light. Inside the walls of this monument to the bizarre resides the largest collection of works by Dali anywhere in the world. Before coming here, I really didn’t have any idea exactly how diverse a career this man had, and how many different mediums and styles he straddled during his lifetime. Perhaps like the majority of us I have always associated his name with his famous surrealist works of melting clocks and lanky-legged elephants. However, some of the rooms here contain such a variety of artistic styles that it would seem impossible to have all been done by one man, it really was an eye opener.
Highlights for me, apart from the obvious surrealist masterpieces I have always known him for, included the Cadillac plujós taxi in the courtyard, filled with corpse like mannequins; and the Mae West Room where an image of her face is created by an installation of bespoke furniture viewed from under a camel at the top of a staircase! Nutty brilliance. The kids both managed to find pieces of art they could enjoy here, which always makes a gallery visit more enjoyable! There are also several animatronic pieces which come to life when a coin is inserted, which kids always enjoy. Bam’s personal favourite was the duo of “ass imprint” sculptures she spotted in one of the cases!
As a final surreal plot twist to his life, Dali is actually interred in this, his castle. He forever resides in a crypt beneath the stage, underneath the thousands of feet who make the journey here every day to bask in his brilliance.